January 12, 2010

I don't know what you bought at The Gas Pipe, but this is what we bought. The matches were free. We weren't so impressed by that 40 years business. They only started in 1970? That's a late start. Whatever happened to the 60s? Or don't you remember?

I went in to a Gas Pipe in Dallas once and saw a long line of bongs on a shelf. I asked to look at a particular bong. "We don't have bongs," said the dude behind the counter. I looked at him with a dull uncomprehending stare. Then, as if speaking to a moron, he added, "I can show you this water pipe, though."

Ah, but when that clock strikes midnightAnd I'm all by myselfI work that combinationOn my secret hideaway shelfAnd I pull out some Fritos corn chipsDr. Pepper and an Ole Moon PieThen I sit back in glorious expectationOf a genuine junk food high

I used to be a smoker, I smoked a pack and a half a day. Horrible things, cigarettes, stopping them was one of the most difficult things I have ever done. It pained me to go 20 minutes without a smoke when I wanted one.

Now I smoke cigars. On occasion, when I feel like it and the situation is supportive of it. Some days I do not feel like a cigar, others I would like one but the situation is not conducive to smoking one, so I don't.

The difference between not smoking a cigar when I would like to and not smoking a cigarette when I wanted to are MILES apart. Thankfully.

So is someonw who uses tobacco in a smoked form 2 days a week a smoker? How about 2 days a month? Twice a year? Does using any tobacco in a smoked manner make you a smoker?

I have never smoked cigarettes, but I do smoke 3 to 4 cigars a week............by choice. Nothing beats a Gloria Cubana Lancero, and a couple of cigar smoking friends for drinks at the local, cigar friendly pub. AAAAH!

I loved to smoke! Great great habit, one of the best but unfortunately a bit on the risky side. It is hard to believe but in the early 1980s I smoked those big Partagas in an office, in California, in the Bay Area and told the hand wavers and nose holders, those early California adopters, to buzz off. It was wonderful being young and rich and the boss in California in the early 1980s. First rate.

Apparently, the Gas Pipe opened in Austin in 1970 because the founder was otherwise occupied in Vietnam during previous years.

Also, on the topic of smoking, the Wall Street Journal has an interesting article today about "part-time smokers". Apparently, the anti-smoking crowd is scandalized by the existence of people like myself, who smoke only when having a drink with friends or to relax at the end of the day, and don't live up to the desparate pack-a-day stereotype.

I like this quote from the article regarding social smokers: "If smoking is a part of your social circle, try enlisting your friends to quit with you and get together in places where smoking is strictly prohibited. Be wary of alcohol, which often goes hand in hand with smoking and weakens inhibitions."

In other words, stop hanging out with fun people at places where alcohol is served, and become a hectoring pain to everyone around you who is trying to have some fun. The loss of social contacts should help the social smoker to quit.

Yeah. The "part-time smoker" thing is pretty amusing. I smoke 2 - 4 sticks a week. Sometimes none. I long ago opted for quality over quantity. I especially like to pair a fine cigar with a fine liquor; old rums and small batch bourbons come to mind. I started with cigars over 20 years ago, because that's what my fellow chefs were smoking immediately after service. Of course, most of them tapered off to ciggies and splifs after that, but I digress...

Thanks somefeller, I guess the first shop was down on Cedar Springs a few blocks north of Oak Lawn in Dallas. It seemed a little odd; the police never did seem at all interested though as far as I could tell. I worked nearby. That fits Dallas though. I had a friend who was old when I met him, 'escaped' from an orphanage at 14, lived on the streets. He would get picked up for minor offenses. Henry Wade, the DA, 'knew his history' and never would prosecute. Keep pretty clean and the police don't want to fool with you.